Bright Dawn
by Queen Belladonna
Summary: Starclan has prophesied that bright dawn will come and and put an end to the endless darkness once and for all. But, will Brightkit have the strength to fulfill her prophecy? As this brave young cat faces shattering betrayals, agonizing loneliness and unrequited love, several mysterious destinies are being laid out before her. But she can only triumph by facing her own fears first.
1. Prologue: A different savior

A clear night sky sparkled far above a deserted clearing. An old, blue-gray she-cat sat staring up at its luminous depths, waiting. All around her in the shadows, she could hear the breathing and stirrings of sleeping cats. A small, lithe tortoiseshell she-cat emerged from a dark corner, her pawsteps quick and soundless.

The gray cat dipped her head in greeting, and the tortoiseshell did the same. "Well met, Bluestar," mewed the smaller cat, her amber eyes shining through the dark. "Yes, Spottedleaf," replied the blue-pelted leader, sighing. "We have been through hard times," she said, cutting straight to the point. "I still cannot imagine why Riverclan would choose to take back Sunningrocks, and now of all times. How are Mousefur's and Ravenpaw's wounds?"

Spottedleaf lowered her eyes in shared sadness. "They are doing fine... both are strong, but I cannot help but feel that the endless battles between Thunderclan and Riverclan over Sunningrocks do terrible harm to both sides and accomplish nothing," she declared.

"That may be so," murmured Bluestar, "but we both know that Sunningrocks belongs to Thunderclan. Our-"

Before she had the chance to complete her sentence, Spottedleaf stiffened beside her. "Starclan," she whispered, awed.

Bluestar froze as well, not daring to move nor speak. Seconds passed like moons to her as Spottedleaf stared straight ahead at the trees of Thunderclan territory, looking at them but not seeing them. As Bluestar felt that her muscles were going to solidify and become stone from lack of movement, Spottedleaf finally exhaled softly.

"What has Starclan shown you?" inquired Bluestar, managing to disguise her hope and excitement.

For the first time in a long time, Spottedleaf seemed uncertain. "I'm not sure..." she mumbled, confused. "They seemed to be showing me what _would_ have happened. There was a tomcat with a pelt like fire, and a dark tabby, and a tiny black and white cat all standing together. There was so much bloodshed... I have the strangest feeling that I had already died by the time my visions finished. Someday I will tell you every detail about every one of them, but not tonight. Starclan had only one clear message for us: Fire will save the clan, but cats will die innocent deaths and the Dark Forest will rise in the end. But, if only one has the patience to wait for fire's fueling fury to die down to ash: Bright dawn will come after every dark night. Bright dawn will save the four clans and the lost clan, and bright dawn will lead the charge against the Dark Forest. Then, bright will our future be."

Neither cat moved after Spottedleaf spoke. They stayed that way, looking up at the sky, each lost in her own tangled thoughts, until dawn.


	2. Chapter 1: Tiger's Path

Sunningrocks was a whirling battlefield as dark shapes swarmed all over it. Tigerclaw waded through the knots of tussling cats, noting the numbers. Realizing that Thunderclan was undeniably outnumbered, he reluctantly growled, yet yowled at a bleeding Ravenpaw: "Go back to camp! We need another patrol!"

Ravenpaw's terrified expression infuriated Tigerclaw. "Go!" he roared. Without another word, Ravenpaw turned tail and stumbled between the trees, dripping a trail of blood as he went.

Tigerclaw's gaze swept over the battle. Noticing that Redtail was being overwhelmed by Oakheart, a Riverclan cat, he charged through the cats to Redtail's side. Together, he and the deputy chased Oakheart away. After Tigerclaw had made sure that Redtail had the situation under control, he turned around and continued fighting. Many cats fell before his gigantic paws, and his tigerlike roar struck fear into the hearts of everyone present.

However, the Thunderclan cats were still hopelessly overwhelmed. Redtail returned to the fray, yowling, "Thunderclan! Retreat! There are too many of them!"

"But I just sent Ravenpaw to get another patrol!" Tigerclaw yelled.

"No use!" Redtail shot back. "We have to leave, now. Mousefur's already injured and back at camp- how many other cats do you want to risk in this battle? We'll come back again."

The Riverclan cats hissed and sneered. "That's right, kittypets, go crawling back home to your camp."

The Thunderclan battle patrol bunched together and fled the battlefield. As the rest of their Clanmates filed slowly through the trees, Tigerclaw and Redtail were left alone. "What did you do?" asked Tigerclaw angrily. "Since we retreated, Riverclan will think we're weak. Sunningrocks belongs to us, and Ravenpaw's patrol could have come!"

Redtail's back was to Tigerclaw as he opened his mouth to speak. He never saw Tigerclaw's huge, unsheathed paw rising up in the air, ready to strike, to kill...

Ravenpaw burst into the clearing through some tangled brush, and Tigerclaw whirled around, rapidly lowering his paw. "What are you doing here?" Tigerclaw snarled, making Ravenpaw cringe. "Why didn't you come earlier, and where is the patrol?" The apprentice's eyes were wide and scared. Redtail padded over to Ravenpaw, kindly asking, "What is it?"

"G-goldenflower," stuttered Ravenpaw. Tigerclaw's eyes also widened in alarm. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"She has stomach pains, but her kits aren't due for another three or four moons. Spottedleaf thinks she ate poisoned prey."

With an exclamation of worry, Tigerclaw tore off through the woods to be by his mate's side. And the stars twinkled down on him, seeing all, knowing all, and understanding all.

* * *

"Let all those cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

Bluestar's summons echoed throughout the air. Almost at once, cat faces began popping out among the entrances of dens and all over the camp, some worried, some excited, and some simply curious.

"Thunderclan has lost the battle over Sunningrocks."

A susurrus of disquiet rippled throughout the crowd of watching cats.

"Thunderclan needs more warriors," Bluestar continued, "Never before have we had so few apprentices in training. But, have hope. When both Goldenflower's and Brindleface's kits are born, and our senior apprentices become warriors - we will purge Sunningrocks of Riverclan stench, and our clan will rise again!"

The crowd of cats caterwauled to the sky. As they began to disperse, Bluestar called out to them: "Wait! Fox fur and dirt have been spotted on our Twolegplace border. Keep an eye out in that area. Also, a fire-colored kittypet sometimes wanders around the area. All of you have permission to chase him out of the territory. That is all!"

Bluestar leaped down from the Highrock, satin-blue fur shining in the sun, and slipped into her den.

About to announce the sunhigh patrols, Redtail, the deputy, took her place on the Highrock. All of the chatting cats fell silent.

"Whitestorm, Sandpaw, Darkstripe. Patrol the Riverclan border. Make sure no Riverclan cats take more of our territory. Be careful not to be seen, though. They may react in a hostile or reckless way.

"Willowpelt, Longtail, and Runningwind. Patrol the Shadowclan border. Stop to hunt at Snakerocks, then circle back to camp.

"Lionheart, Graypaw, Dustpaw, and I will investigate around the Twolegplace."

"What about me?" Tigerclaw challenged, anger flaring in his eyes at being left out.

Redtail looked at him mildly. "I'm sure you want to discuss the defeat at Riverclan with Bluestar, right? And check up on your mate? You can stay and guard the camp."

Looking thoroughly taken aback, Tigerclaw dipped his massive head and padded away.

* * *

"No, Tigerclaw, I do not believe that we should do anything about Riverclan right now," said Bluestar, rather tiredly. "I already feel that this topic has been discussed too much, and you are not the clan deputy." She didn't see Tigerclaw's eyes flash briefly.

"All we need is time," she continued. "You are dismissed. Oh, and you might want to check up on your apprentice's injuries. Don't train Ravenpaw until Spottedleaf says it's all right."

As he pushed back the lichen covering Bluestar's den, Tigerclaw growled. He had already made sure Goldenflower was comfortable (she was, in fact, chatting happily about kit names with another queen, Brindleface, and her mother Speckletail), and he was itching for something useful to do. Then, he remembered the report of a nosy kittypet and a fox near Twolegplace. Tigerclaw decided to follow Redtail and Lionheart's patrol.

He pushed through the gorse tunnel and set off into the forest, swiftly heading for Twolegplace.

When he finally reached the patrol, he realized that he was now only scenting Graypaw, Lionheart's apprentice. Alarmed, Tigerclaw sprang through the brush to see Graypaw hurtling towards a fire-colored kittypet that was stalking a mouse- and there was a fox's tail swishing out of a clump of tall ferns up ahead.

"Stop!" yowled Tigerclaw, as he flew over the ground towards the oblivious kittypet and the wayward apprentice. Just in time, he collided with both of the smaller cats, and glimpsed the fox's tail vanishing through the ferns.

"There was a fox up ahead!" he thundered. "Graypaw, you have just been made an apprentice! But even so, you should have scented it!

"And as for you-" he glared at the kittypet. "These forests are dangerous, but they are _our_ forests. If I ever catch you snooping around here or stalking our valuable prey again, you will be sorry! Now go home!"

The kittypet didn't move, blinking at the large brown tabby curiously. "Are you-"

Tigerclaw swiped a giant paw at him. At this, the kittypet turned around and fled.

"Let's get back to camp," he growled to Graypaw.

As they left, Graypaw turned around once to look at the kittypet's receding outline. "I think he was around my age," mewed Graypaw. "I wonder if, maybe in another world, we could have been apprentices together or even friends."

Tigerclaw snorted.


	3. Chapter 2: Bright Arrival

(A couple of moons after the last chapter that I posted...)

* * *

The first thing that I could sense was the warm, comforting smell of other things around me. I felt warm fur pressing around me. I wanted to snuggle into it deeper to sleep some more, but I was also- curious. Yes, curious! That was it! For the first time in my very short existence so far, I felt curious! I had to know what was happening around me. And so, I blinked open my eyes.

Everything seemed to come rushing in towards me so that I was momentarily blinded. But then- I heard something. A voice, mewing, "Oh, look, Brightkit has opened her eyes!" I focused on a shadowy shape. It was a golden tabby with a nick in one ear. I thought for a moment. Goldenflower.

Then I looked at myself. I had a dark brown tail and a dark brown front paw - my right, I think? The rest of my fluffy pelt was bright gold. Looking beside me, I saw two lumps of fur - one was shimmery and sleek, flowing neatly like water, while the other was just as poofy as my own pelt, a fiery ginger color like flame.

"Bright," I mewed.

Goldenflower let out a _mrow_ of delight. "She said her name!" she exclaimed, happily calling over her shoulder. I blinked and stared around myself. This place was huge! I was in a nest with Goldenflower and the other two kits, and there were three other nests just as big as ours. Lots of plants grew around and above us, too. I couldn't imagine anything as big as this place. _The nursery,_ I thought. _The nursery is huge._

"These are your sisters," purred my mother. "She's Streamkit-" she pointed with her pale ginger tail towards the sleek lump of fur- "and she's Flamekit." So the fiery ginger was Flamekit. I decided, in that moment, that I couldn't wait until they opened their eyes too. I reached out a paw to prod Flamekit.

"No, no, not yet," Goldenflower chided. "Let them open their eyes themselves. Meanwhile, you can get right back to sleep. As a growing kit, you need plenty of rest."

I obediently closed my eyes and promptly dropped off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 3: Happy Kit War

Bright Dawn: Chapter 3: Happy Kits

"Catch this, Brightkit!" Swiftkit, the biggest kit in the nursery, batted a large ball of moss at us, the three daughters of Tigerclaw. It sailed towards Streamkit, striking her delicate, pink nose.

"Hey!" she complained, sneezing.

Flamekit swung around to glare at Swiftkit. "Go away!" she exclaimed. "You did that on purpose."

Lynxkit stepped over to the trio of she-kits soothingly. "I'm sorry," he mewed placatingly.

I narrowed my eyes. "Swiftkit. Apologize to my sister. Now."

Wincing at the prospect of fighting, Streamkit quietly mewed, "Brightkit- maybe you don't have to-"

But I stepped forward, thrusting my face close to Swiftkit's. Even though he was already six and a half moons old (a little overripe to be a kit, I suppose), I glared aggressively into my half-brother's pale amber eyes.

Streamkit stepped forward on my left, and Flamekit on my right, both looking menacing. "Don't mess with us," I warned, baring my teeth.

Bouncekit, Cinderkit, Brackenkit, and Thornkit exchanged glances, and quickly stepped between us and Swiftkit.

"Oh, no," mewed Swiftkit. "I think this calls for War.  
"Who dares to challenge me, undefeated victor of every game so far? Certainly not some cat as puny as you, Brightkit?"

"We do!" I did my best to caterwaul back at him. "As challenger, I will choose my teammates: Flamekit, Streamkit, and..." I glanced at the other cats. I always felt as if Bouncekit had something special for Flamekit, so that would be an advantage. Cinderkit was incredibly enthusiastic, but had a hard time thinking of a strategy or following instructions. Brackenkit was quiet and thoughtful, but thought _way_ too much. "Bouncekit," I added, finally.

Surprise flared in his glowing yellow eyes and made his earthy pelt stand up on end with excitement. Happily, he bounced over to us, whiskers twitching up and down, his eyes fixed on Flamekit.

"Thanks," he remembered to mew to me, and gave me a hearty shoulder nudge. There were several snickers from Thornkit and Cinderkit, as well as a meaningful look from Flamekit. I rolled my eyes at my stupid sister. She must be as blind as a bat if she couldn't see that Bouncekit and I were just friends, and that he was very interested in her. Even though we were just kits, of course. Ha.

"My team will be: Thornkit, Brackenkit, Cinderkit, and myself." Swiftkit was confident and determined in his challenge.

"Hey, what about me?" Lynxkit complained.

Goldenflower swooped down upon him and began roughly licking. "No, no, my little one, you can just watch and be the referee. Remember, you have a weak system. We don't want you to get hurt. Just make sure your brother and half sisters play fair, alright?"

She turned around and gave us, especially me, a glare. "Make sure that Lynxkit stays safe," she warned.

I nodded and puffed out my chest. "Of course," I declared confidently. As soon as her golden tail whisked out of sight, probably off to a hunting patrol, I snarled at Swiftkit.

"Here's our mossball," I said. "Here's yours. Our camp will be that hollow over here, yours will be that one over there. We're playing the conquering way. I pick the name Brightstar."

Swiftkit tipped his head in an amused way. "I'm Swiftstar, then."

Lynxkit yowled to the sky: "GO!"

"Here's the strategy," I mewed to my teammates rapidly. "I'm not very fast, so I will be more likely to be caught. Thus, I will cause distractions. We need to send our best runner forward to slip between their defenses, and our best fighter to fight them off. Our best defender will stay to defend our mossball, and I, as Brightstar, will cover everything else."

I looked at our team. Streamkit had quick reflexes but wasn't that aggressive. "Streamkit, you can be defense," I said. "Thunderclan needs your quick reflexes to beat off emStinkstar and his team."

Flamekit was a great runner, and Bouncekit would probably use all of the ripply muscles under his earth-colored pelt to defend Flamekit.  
"You two, go on the offense," I quickly ordered. "I need your skills in securing the enemy's mossball."

By this time, Swiftkit's plan had been formed, and I spied Brackenkit slinking towards us from the side while Cinderkit charged at us, yowling random things.

"Fish!" she screamed. "Swiftstar! Prey! Highrock! Leafbare! Fox!"

Brackenkit snapped up in alarm. "Fox?" He yelped, and dove into the nearest nest. Snorting with laughter, I quickly bowled over Cinderkit, landing in a neat roll. Then, I looked up to check on Bouncekit and Flamekit's progress: Flamekit was nimbly slipping around Swiftkit, always dancing out of reach, while Bouncekit matched Thornkit in battle claw for claw.

I heard a playful hiss from behind me, and noted Streamkit fighting off Cinderkit, no problems there. However, I spied Brackenkit crawling out of his fox shelter (the empty nest of his mother, Frostfur). With a tiny battle yowl, I leapt onto his shoulders and cuffed his ears.

With a plan in mind, I suddenly pulled free of his little claws and sprinted towards the far end of the nursery, where the other four kits were still scuffling. "Hey, Brackenkit!" I called over my shoulder. "Guess where I'm going? I'm going to slip right in between them and get your precious mossball!" I cackled. Just as I predicted, he raced after me immediately.

I continued to run, drawing him away from our own hollow. When I reached my sister, I quickly tapped her shoulder with my tail once to let her know I was there, and she immediately moved so that she was blocking Swiftkit's view of me. Next, when Brackenkit reached the spot, I quickly stopped running so that he crashed into me and lay sprawled on the ground where Swiftkit tripped over him. Laughing gleefully, Flamekit jumped on top of both of them and sat there regally on top of their heads.

As I stifled a _mrow_ of amusement, I finally jumped into Swiftkit's hollow and pounced on the mossball. "Brightstar claims Swiftstar's mossball!" I yowled out the top of my lungs. The reaction was immediate: Bouncekit and Flamekit quickly wriggled out of their respective fights, and jumped into the hollow.

"Run, Streamkit, run!" we screamed. "You've got to get here before they get over there!"

My youngest sister was still fighting with Cinderkit. "Look, a hawk!" she screeched, and Cinderkit was momentarily distracted. Faster than a sleek fish, Streamkit slid neatly under Cinderkit and pounded over the nursery floor towards us. She sailed over Swiftkit's outstretched paws, and landed in our hollow.

"Victory!" I yelled to the sky.

"Oh, no, you don't," retorted Swiftkit, and jumped on me. In a few quick moments, the entire hollow was filled with squirming kits.

"Your horrible tail is in my beautiful face!" cried Streamkit.

"Your horrible face is in my beautiful tail!" retorted Cinderkit.

"Get your paw out of my side!" I cried to Thornkit, then cuffed Swiftkit over his ears with my right paw.

It was then, as I lay pinned beneath Streamkit, that I turned my head and saw Bouncekit - maybe accidentally, of course - bury his muzzle in Flamekit's furry cheek. "Oh, my Starclan!" I squealed.

Everyone fell off me in a heap. Lynxkit came running over. "That was not fair!" he told Swiftkit. "You attacked our half sister and her team after she won! Brightstar wins!"

Afterward, my sisters, Bouncekit, and I celebrated with small cubes of mouse and our first taste of vole. As I lay sleeping later that night, trapped in a snuggly, warm, comfortable cage of fur between Goldenflower, Flamekit, and Streamkit, I looked at my sisters and my mother and sighed with happiness. I loved all of them so much. Then I thought of Tigerclaw, our father, who had come to visit sometimes.

Even though he was big, quiet, and serious, and his scarred muzzle was pretty scary, I was sure he loved us too. I curled my tail around Streamkit's and licked the top of Flamekit's head, and said goodnight to both of them, even though they were both asleep already. I was so, so, so happy. I was the luckiest kit in the whole wide world.

Nothing could possibly go wrong in this wonderful life, not ever.


	5. Chapter 4: Fishy Suspicions

Bright Dawn: Chapter 4: Fishy Suspicions

"Why is Graypaw visiting _again_?" asked Streamkit. We were now three moons old, and I was sad to note that differences had grown between all of us kits: Brackenkit had grown even more mature and quiet, Swiftpaw was much less aggressive as an apprentice, Thornkit had become more playful and silly, Cinderkit was even more enthusiastic, Bouncekit was more energetic, Streamkit was more open and had more ideas now, Flamekit was funnier and more lighthearted.

And Lynxkit? The day before their apprentice ceremony, he and Swiftkit had been playing Brokenstar vs. Thunderclan, with the rest of us either participating or admiringly watching. That night, he was dead.

We had all been in shock. It was one thing to hear of a cat dying in battle far away from us, but to see a friend we knew well and played with often lying on the floor, dead, was a huge shock for us. He was only a kit, and Thornkit had said that he had died because his insides and guts all collapsed. Weird!

Anyways, what was Streamkit saying? Oh, right, Graypaw. Ha.

"He's obviously here for Brightkit," teased Cinderkit.

"That was _so_ two moons ago!" I protested. "Now he likes Flamekit!"

Bouncekit suddenly looked like someone ruffled his pelt the wrong way, but he said nothing.

"Or, _maybe..._ " Flamekit mewed, drawing out the word, "he's here to teach us all battle moves like he said he would yesterday!"

The nursery hollows erupted into squeals of delight. "I'll be in front!" I exclaimed, pushing my way to the front. A little angrily, Flamekit shoved her way beside me.

"I bet Graypaw'll agree that I'm the best at it!" she boasted.

"Oh, really?" I shot back. "Watch out for my skills!"

Graypaw finally managed to get some order. "Okay, kits," he said. Before he could get any further, Cinderkit tipped her head on her side and asked, "What is your favorite activity?"

Annoyed, the apprentice replied, "Eating, and sleeping. I catch mice by sitting on them."

Streamkit then innocently inquired, "Really? Is it because you're so fat that they surrender when they get trapped under your bottom?"

Deciding to ignore this jab, Graypaw proceeded to teach us the front paw swipe and how to feint and jab at an opponent. When he stopped to watch Flamekit and I spar, he purred happily, and told us: "Great fighting!" Then he mewed, "Flamekit - you're great at this! You're such a quick learner!"

I was a little miffed. That was just 'cause old Graypaw liked Flamekit! While Flamekit was distracted, I managed to land a blow and sweep her off her paws. As she lay splayed on the ground, Graypaw began to purr with amusement but quickly stopped when Flamekit glared at him.

Oops... I hadn't meant to do that, I really hadn't! I guess I had just done it without thinking. "Sorry, Flamekit!" I squeaked apologetically.

Flamekit gave me a searching look but nodded in acceptance in the end.

Glancing over his shoulder, Graypaw jumped up in happy surprise. "Ravenpaw just caught an adder!" he exclaimed, amazed. "And Swiftpaw caught a fish!"

"Ooh! Me first!" Flamekit shrieked, and bounded for the freshkill heap. "I've never tasted fish before!"

I noticed that Ravenpaw had arranged his adder on a nearby treestump for all to see, so I went up to him and purred in admiration.

"Thanks," he smiled back, and moved to let me go taste the fish first. At this point, I heard Bouncekit emit a tiny mew... choo! He had sneezed! Since none of us kits had ever heard a sneeze before, only heard it described, we thought this was immensely funny. What was not funny, however, was the fact that Bouncekit had sneezed into Flamekit's fur.

"Uh-hhf!" she screamed, the harsh "hf" sound turning into a furious hiss. She glared at Bouncekit. "You spit in my fur!"

Completely embarrased, he awkwardly used his paw to bat it off of her fur before Flamekit shook out her pelt to storm back to the nursery. A second later, she darted back to us, picked up a giant lump of fish, hissed scornfully at Bouncekit, and flounced through the tunnel in the bramble thicket leading to the nursery hollow.

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence, which left me plenty of time to wonder if Flamekit was maybe a little super aggressive.

The raw, salty taste of the light fish flesh stayed in my mouth until I went to sleep that night.


	6. Chapter 5: Spiteful Decision

"Flamekit?" I mewed hesitantly. There was no response as my sister licked the last scraps of mouse off of her jowls. "I think Bouncekit didn't mean to do that. I mean, sneeze on you. And today he asked me if he could officially be part of our friend group. He's really lonely, you see."

Immediately, Flamekit whirled around. "What did you tell him?" she spat. When at first I didn't reply, she fluffed out her fiery fur and prompted angrily, "Brightkit? What did you say?"

"I told him I would ask you first," I finally mewed. I knew what Flamekit would say next, and I braced myself for it.

"No! Of course not!" she screeched. "How could you even think of it? That tomkit is _disgusting_!"

"Just because you have a bad first impression-"

"First impression?" she snapped back. "He's like that all the time! Gross, immature, bouncing around all over the place!"

I remembered seeing Bouncekit sitting in a lone dip in the nursery floor while his siblings ignored him. He was so lonely, and really seemed to want to be friends with me.

"In truth, I think he's just really lonely," I finally muttered. "I want to accept him into our group. Streamkit agrees."

That might have been the wrong thing to say. "Oh, Streamkit agrees, does she? Majority rules? Well, that isn't fair!" retorted Flamekit. "And if you're going to choose to let him in, you'll choose between him and me. Who's more important, your sister or some random gross tomkit?"

I was completely angered. Flamekit was being so unfair! I couldn't believe it! Bouncekit was an innocent tomkit who was pretty nice. Once, at the beginning of our friendship, he had allowed me to sleep with him during a naptime when my sisters were flailing around and muttering in their sleep.

Perhaps just to spite Flamekit, I uttered: "Fine. I pick him."

And that was how our first major argument occurred.


	7. Announcement

Due to recent unfortunate circumstances, the author has lost the will to write. She is suffering greatly and she will not update this story anytime soon. May she recover quickly, and may Starclan watch over her.


End file.
